We're What Holds Them Together (So Please Don't Break Them)
by livyyellow
Summary: Kiyoshi and Hyuuga run into Kise and Kasamatsu at the hospital, and a few interesting conversations ensue. Basically an excuse to explore the parallels between Kiyoshi, Hyuuga, and Hanamiya and Kise, Kasamatsu, and Haizaki. Now contains multiple one-shots than can be read together or alone.
1. Hospital Coincidence

"When does your flight leave?"

"On Friday. I'll just take the bus to the airport right after school ends."

"Hm."

"Don't go getting all sappy on me now, Hyuuga!"

"Shut up, idiot."

Seirin's captain glared at the taller man sitting next to him. It was Kiyoshi's last visit to the orthopedic center in Japan before he left for his surgery in America. Hyuuga had never gotten to the point where he was used to hospitals; the pungent smell and bright lights and blinding white walls. In fact, Kiyoshi made him hate hospitals even more. But, all the same, either he or Riko would go with Kiyoshi to every hospital visit he had. This was just a final check up, but Hyuuga still wanted to be there to support him.

"Kiyoshi, Teppei."

"Well," Kiyoshi sighed and stood up slowly, and it didn't escape Hyuuga's notice how he rested one hand on his knee as he stood. "That's me. Meet you in the cafeteria after my appointment?" Since Hyuuga wasn't actually allowed in the examination room this became somewhat of a routine.

"Sure."

He was halfway to the cafeteria (a cramped bland room with basic tables with the stools attached and less than mediocre 'health conscious' food that rivaled Riko's) when Hyuuga turned by the rehabilitation wing of the orthopedic center. It was early on a Sunday morning so Hyuuga didn't expect for the place to be very busy, so it came as a bit of a surprise to see a black haired boy sitting on a bench, chin resting on his hands and starring intently at the wall.

Hyuuga's eyebrows inched up his forehead. "Kasamatsu-san?"

The boy looked up and gave a lazy smile. "Hello Hyuuga-san." Hyuuga frowned at the simplicity of the reply.

"What are you doing here?"

"Funny, I could ask you the same."

"I'm here with Kiyoshi," Hyuuga replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Kasamatsu rubbed his hands together before shoving them in his pockets.

"I'm here with Kise."

That was news to Seirin's captain. "Is he alright? I knew his foot was giving him some trouble after the game with Touou."

Kasamatsu nodded grimly. "Yeah, Haizaki messed his leg up more, the doctors aren't entirely sure what's wrong with it since the X-ray showed nothing too serious, however it's painful for him to walk on it or play too much. They're having him do rehab and some physical therapy to see if it can get better without having to do an MRI."

That sounded entirely too familiar to Hyuuga. "I'm sorry. That doesn't sound too good."

Kasamatsu stood up and stretched. "Where you headed? I'll walk with you. Kise shouldn't be out for a while."

The two took off down the hallway and around a corner. "Cafeteria. Yeah, Kiyoshi is just getting one last check up before heading to America for surgery."

Kasamatsu appeared to stumble. "Wait, surgery? In America? I knew his knee was busted but I didn't realize it was that serious."

Hyuuga scowled at the floor and managed a nod. Talk of the Iron Heart's injury had become a regular thing, but still going over it again made Hyuuga's stomach contort into knots. "Yeah. The MRI said he had a few micro tears in his ACL and LCL. He was able to play for a while after his injury, but it just made it a lot worse. I mean, it was worth it he says, but I wish he didn't have to get hurt."

"Yeah Hanamiya's a bastard." Hyuuga chuckled and shared a smile with the ex-captain of Kaijo.

"Let's hope he and Haizaki don't ever meet, yeah?"

Kasamatsu laughed and kicked at the floor, his sneakers squeaking on the linoleum. "I hope not. Hanamiya would be the brain behind Haizaki's brawn."

Hyuuga silently agreed. "I think Haizaki has potential to be more dangerous than Hanamiya, to be honest. He's so brutal to his teammates and he attacked Tatsuya- number 12 from Yosen- and Kagami's trainer Alex pretty violently. I never really heard why."

"Sorry about that. He has this rivalry with Kise which probably just provoked him more. He hates all the Generation of Miracles." The two boys entered a nearby stairwell and the door shut behind them as they descended into the first floor and exited by the cafeteria.

The pair were silent for a few moments before Kasamatsu spoke up. "How is Kiyoshi handling the physical therapy?"

"As well as he can, I suppose." Hyuua held the door open for the senior before following him out. "The idiot is playing basketball more than he should though."

"Glad to see Kise isn't the only one with that problem. He's doing okay, but I think he's not taking it very seriously. He keeps saying it's not that bad and he's fine to play."

"Tell him to be careful. Having a career ending injury... I just don't want him to go through that."

Hyuuga's eyes scanned over the menu after fishing his wallet out of his pocket. "They have natto here!" He beamed. Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow and smirked, not making any effort to hide his amusement. Hyuuga glared and elbowed the other boy before paying for a bowl.

"Do you have any Nikujaga?"

The employee rolled their eyes slightly. "Um, it's nine in the morning."

"Eh figured I would ask. Can I have a bowl of rice with miso soup?"

The pair sat down at a table in the back close to the door. Hyuuga took one bite of the breakfast and gagged. "This tastes like shit!"

"What did you expect from hospital food?"

"But natto is so good I figured they couldn't mess it up!"

"You put too much faith in them."

"Shut up," Hyuuga snapped, although it was lacking the usual clutch time bite.

Kasamatsu continued to smirk.

* * *

Kise had just finished with his physical therapy; leg exercised, stretching techniques, "does it hurt when I do this?" "This?" "How about this?", and instructions for at home treatment. He thanked the nurse and sent a dashing smile her way, the type that came to naturally to him. He walked out the door and to the receptionist's desk to check out. Another person stood in front of him with a mop of slightly messy brown hair and was a few inches taller than him.

The boy thanked the receptionist gladly and turned around. "Kise!"

The model smiled. "Kiyoshicchi!"

"Eh, hi! What are you doing here?" Kiyoshi stepped aside while Kise checked out and scrambled with his debit card for the hospital bill.

Kise shrugged as he finished paying. "Physical therapy for my foot. Are you here for your knee?"

Kiyoshi nodded, his smile fading a bit. The pair walked towards the elevator and Kiyoshi pressed the down button. "I'm sorry about your foot. That's very unluckily."

"Yeah, I guess, but I felt something was off for a while. I don't think it's too serious but Kasamatsucchi said that I should just be careful with it. I think it'll be fine though! I just want to play again!"

"I know how you feel."

"And I'm sorry about your knee. Will you be able to play at all next year?"

The Iron Heart shook his head. "No. I will come to as many practices as I can and be the team manager if possible."

"That's great! At least you'll still be there for Seirin! But I'm telling you, Kaijo will beat them next year!"

The elevator door chimed and opened and the two clambered inside, pressing the button for the ground flood. "Well I look forward to the game, Seirin won't give up without a fight!"

For a few moments it was silent in the elevator, Kiyoshi playing with the hem of his sleeve and Kise bobbing his head lightly to the repetitive music. "Say, Kise?"

"Hm?"

"Do you mind if I ask you a bit of a more... personal question?"

Kise frowned. "Uh, sure. Of course!"

Kiyoshi smiled nervously. "Are you afraid that Haizaki will try to hurt your teammates?"

The Copy Cat of the Generation of Miracles immediately sobered. "You know, I never thought about it. I don't think so, Haizaki seems to be a spiteful person to anyone who gets in his way, but he mainly just hates the Generation of Miracles, so as long as they don't do anything to provoke them they should be fine. But even if they did, I'm not too concerned. I think they can take care of themselves. Besides, I'll be there to help them out through thick and thin, and especially anything that has to do with Haizaki. I mean, I would feel a little bit responsible if any of my teammates were hurt because of him since we have such a strained relationship." The elevator stopped and the doors opened. The pair walked out and turned down a hall towards the cafeteria. "Why do you ask?"

The two walked in slow, even steps to the benefit of both of them. "It's just that I could see Hanamiya trying to hurt my teammates. He's made a lot of threats, and I'm not sure which ones, if any, I should take seriously. He has mainly talked about hurting Hyuuga and Kuroko. I don't know. It just makes me worry I guess. I don't want them to go through what I went through."

Kise frowned and glared at the floor. "Well, I don't know if there's any meaning behind Hanamiya's words, but if he does try anything, you'll have Kaijo's support behind you. I can promise that much. I would be willing to bet Touou and Rakuzan would be more than willing to help fight off Hanamiya as well. I'm not too sure about Shutoku and Yosen, but I might be able to persuade them." Kise grinned and Kiyoshi felt a small weight lift off his shoulders.

"Thanks, Kise. That means a lot."

The two entered the cafeteria and got something to eat, and Kise scanned the room. "I know Kasamatsu is here."

"Yeah Hyuuga came with me too- oh they're in the back corner." The two walked over to the table where their captains sat, already more than halfway finished with breakfast.

"Kasamatsu look I found Kiyoshicchi!" Kise's energetic voice pulled the two captains out of their conversation. Kasamatsu looked over his shoulder and smiled at the blond as he sat down next to him. Kiyoshi waved in recognition to Kasamatsu and sat down next to a smirking Hyuuga.

"What?"

Seirin's shooting guard shook with silent laughter. "Oh, nothing, nothing, _Kiyoshicchi, Crownless General, Iron Heart."_

A vein seemed to pulse in Kiyoshi's forehead. "Hyuuga. Even though it's you, we've talked about this."

"Really, Iron Heart?"

"Hyuuga. Be quiet."

Kasamatsu chuckled and Kise just smiled. "So, how was it?" Kise shrugged at his senior's question.

"It's was fine I guess- ow!" Kasamatsu punched him in the arm and glared. "What?"  
"You better be paying attention. I don't want it to get worse. You're too young to need surgery."

"I'm not going to need surgery that's absurd!"

"Kiyoshi needs surgery."

Kise appeared to pale slightly as he turned to look at the man sitting across from him. "You're joking." He shook his head and Hyuuga pushed his food around on his plate like a grumpy child. "Now I understand why you're nervous."

Hyuuga growled. "About your surgery? You told me just yesterday you were feeling fine!"

Kiyoshi held up his hands in defense. "Oh, no, I feel okay about it. It'll go well. The Doctor who is performing it has been doing knee surgeries for years."

"Then why did you say you were nervous?"

"No reason. I'm not nervous."

"Liar."

Kasamatsu sighed and stood up, collecting his plate and Hyuuga's, regardless of whether the other boy was done or not, the scratching of his chop sticks against the bowl were simply getting aggravating, and jumped the leftover food in the trashcan. He could hear Kiyoshi and Hyuuga continue their bickering from across the cafeteria and he felt a small chill go down his spine. If Kiyoshi could need surgery and be forced to quit basketball, could Kise? Could Haizaki really cause that much damage? The thought of having to watch Kise, an extremely good (arguably best) friend, go through surgery was nauseating. He glanced over to the table and sighed. He respected Hyuuga a lot, but now even more. Kasamatsu could tell that Hyuuga was the glue holding Kiyoshi together. His eyes wandered over to Kise, who was sitting across from the other two watching their argument with interest, and the slightest look of guilt on his smiling face. Kasamatsu made a mental note to ask about that later. For now, if he needed to hold Kise together, so be it. He would do so gladly.

Kasamatsu and Hyuuga exchanged phone numbers before they left, and while they never really told anyone else, they would text and email each other constantly through Kiyoshi's surgery and Kise's recovery. Little did they know that Kise and Kiyoshi do the same.

* * *

 **A/N: Anyone else notice the parallels between these six characters? Kasamatsu and Hyuuga are both the captains, very protective and serious, but with an emotional side, and hold the hopes of their teams on their shoulders. Kise and Kiyoshi are both very strong on the outside and seemingly always smiling, but are both more complex than they appear, and are both injured. This also leads to some emotional turmoil. Hanamiya and Haizaki are both the ones responsible for their injuries and very threatening and both condone violence. But this was bugging me a lot so I had to write it down. Anyways, any and all feedback is always appreciated! I suppose this could connect to my other KnB story, Now They're More Than Petty Words, if you wanted it to, which is located on my profile, but both of them can be read alone or together.**

 **I also have decided to expand on this and will add more one-shots to this ideas as inspiration strikes. The one-shots are related in the fact that all of them involve the parallels between Kise, Kasamatsu, and Haizaki and Hyuuga, Kiyoshi, and Hanamiya, however they will be able to be read alone or together. So, you do not have to read one to understand what is going on in the others. So, check back when you can for updates. :)**


	2. Captain: Kasamatsu

Kasamatsu was so scared and so stiff and frankly a damn emotional wreck before his coach asked to sit down with him. Kaijo had just lost the interhigh preliminaries and it had been his fault.

Images of himself being kicked off the team quickly vanished however at hearing his Takeuchi's words. "I want you to be the next captain. I want you to be the next Ginjiro Miki." Now, Ginjiro Miki was the year's previous captain who had led Kaijo to the interhigh quarterfinals and lost in overtime by one point. But that wasn't to say he failed as a captain. Kasamatsu remembered him vaguely from his time as a first year, he was bold and strong and tall and proud and a leader above all else. What a captain needed to be. He was everything that a victorious team needed.

He tried to be all these things. He attempted to teach the underclassmen respect while begging for the third years to look up to a captain who was their junior. He mentored them and watched them grow and fail and try and try again. He poured his soul out, but never felt that he received much in return.

Kise, of course, was the exception to this. Kasamatsu knew that Kise saw him in a different light since basically the moment he met him. The two were strong apart but together they were unbreakable. At least so they had thought.

After months of training and conditioning and practice camps and living, breathing, sleeping, sweating, bleeding basketball the Kaijo vs. Touou match of the interhigh (the same quarter finals that Ginjiro Miki lost at)crept upon them. Kise was prepared and ready to face Aomine despite never beating him before. Hayakawa was as pumped as ever and seemed to lend the team energy when it had none. Nakamura had spent countless hours analyzing footage of Touou's playing style and had articulated this in painstaking detail to the rest of his team. Miroyama wanted this more than anything else in high school and everyone knew it. Kobi's body was at the point of breaking due to how long he spent at the gym increasing his stamina. Kasamatsu just didn't want to let the team down again.

But not everything works out perfectly, and Touou won the quarter finals.

The winter cup rolled around. Kasamatsu had wiped away the scars of losing in the interhigh, as well as he could but not completely, and focused every ounce of strength he had into the game. Fukuda Sogo would be a different type of match entirely and Kasamatsu was at a loss as to how he could help the team. They were dangerous and good at basketball. He couldn't protect his teammates and play his best game; he just couldn't do both. So, he played his best game and they won - they won - and Kise was injured and Kasamatsu went home crying. Because somehow that hurt more than losing to Touou did. How was that possible? They had won! They were on to the semi finals, more so than ex-captain Ginjiro Miki had ever gotten, but Kasamatsu felt so rotten inside.

Somewhere along the line, he realized that Ginkiro Miki never would have let his teammates get hurt, and would have thrown the game before anyone had to go to the hospital. Kasamatsu discovered this and then promptly ignored it.

Then they had to play Seirin and Kasamatsu wanted it more than anything. He led the team through warm-ups, through the cheer, through the game, against the Shadow and Light Duo Kagami and Kuroko ( _The Generations of Miracles' Sixth Man!_ ) and the Sword and Shield of Seirin Hyuuga and Kiyoshi ( _The_ _Crownless General Iron Heart!_ ) and they were doing okay. They were holding on, but only by a thread.

Then the thread snapped, and Kasamatsu watched it as everything spiral out of control.

They lost against Seirin. They lost against Shutoku, too. Kasamatsu graduated without a medal, without Kaijo winning a title. In fact, he was graduating and _losing_ his title. He was no longer the captain of a lost team.

It was the summer after he graduated. He was headed off to college soon. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. His life had been basketball, and now basketball was done, leaving a ripped shredded beating thing in his chest that led him on without purpose. He had done a good job of living in the moment, that was for sure, so much that he had no plans and it terrified him. If he didn't have basketball, if he couldn't work to improve his team and earn his keep as captain what did he have left? Hell he hadn't ever had that, had he? Had he even earned his keep as captain? He hadn't won. They had made it to the quarter finals but lost in the semifinals. The seniors left without anything to show for their efforts. Nothing at all.

He watched the underclassmen warm up. He had an off afternoon and decided to slip into the gym and help Takeuchi out. And he missed basketball like he missed breathing and losing a few hours for homework wouldn't really matter if he could feel that same ignited passion again.

Kasamatsu collected the basketballs as they rolled around the court during shooting practice, carefully depositing them back on the racks or passing them to his ex-teammates. "In this light you look like him. It took me a few seconds because I was thinking, 'what the hell is Ginjiro doing here, I haven't seen him in years.' Maybe it's the light or how your hair has grown out. But from the back you look like Ginjiro Miki." Kasamatsu held his breath and turned around to see Takeuchi glancing at him offhandedly. He shrugged as Kasamatsu chocked out a reply and continued on coaching the team, but Kasamatsu had to run a hand over his eyes before he could think the statement through too much. He looked like him. _He looked like him._ Like the captain his coach had wanted him to be. But did that mean...?

It only took a few seconds after his bedroom door shut behind him that Kasamatsu began sobbing, laughing and sniffling and crying and outright sobbing. He had done it and he hadn't even noticed. He had been doing it and it never crossed his mind. He had been too focused on the fact that Kaijo had lost for him to realize that he had became the captain everyone wanted him to be, needed him to be. He was Kaijo's captain. He deserved to be Kaijo's captain, because maybe leading didn't necessarily mean victory, it was different. So very vastly different Kasamatsu wasn't entirely sure how he missed it. It was motivating and watching and crying and caring and yelling and cheering and running and everything he had been doing for years. He was the captain they wanted him to be. Finally. It had taken so long, so very long but Kasamatsu couldn't stop smiling (or crying). It had taken all this time for him to become captain, to be worthy of that jersey. Or maybe he had been becoming a captain all along.

* * *

 **A/N: So I thought I would be done after the first chapter, but then more inspiration struck in a horrible way and I had to keep going. Special thanks to Veiled Curiosity for asking if I would be expanding this into a multi-chapter fic and unknowingly inspiring me to continue. Updates may be sporadic but I bet they will come. However I plan on all of the chapters of this to be either read in chronological order or randomly alone. In other words, you don't have to read one chapter to understand the next. The next chapter will focus on Hyuuga's mental process regarding his position as captain, and how it affected him, etc. Feedback is always appreciated! Thanks so much guys.**

 **Also, I created Ginjiro Miki. He does not exist in canon, nor could I find the name of the previous captain of Kaijo before Kasamatsu. I just wanted to clear that up. Ginjiro Miki is my OC. I do not plan on making OCs a reoccurring theme, I just felt that Kasamatsu having a physical person to compare himself to would be a lot more effective and realistic than if I had just kept continuing to repeat 'the previous captain'.**


	3. Captain: Hyuuga

Just a few days ago he thought he was done with basketball all together. The thought of being captain never crossed Hyuuga's mind. He never wanted to be captain. He hadn't been a contender in middle school and he automatically assumed that he wasn't a contender in high school. Kiyoshi was the obvious choice- he was their ace and their best player. He was the one who started the team.

So it came as quite a shock when the words, "I assumed Hyuuga would be captain," came tumbling out of the Iron Heart's mouth.

For a few seconds Hyuuga was stiff and began sputtering make believe excuses. He wasn't the best player, in fact, he thought Izuki was better than him as well as Kiyoshi. Hyuuga didn't have a special ability and he never assumed his shooting was anything too special.

But practice made perfect, everyone said. So maybe it could grow into something amazing. This thought never consciously crossed his mind, however.

Once Kiyoshi set something into motion, the rest of the team were quick to follow. Hyuuga thought this was exactly why Kiyoshi should be captain and not him. However, the others were quick to agree with the Iron Heart's thinking so before Hyuuga could realize what was going on he was yanking on the number 4 jersey and yelling at his fellow first years to warm up.

"You have something that I don't," Kiyoshi added. "You're best suited at being a _leader_."

Hyuuga had no idea what that meant, but he would let the Iron Heart do and say what he wanted.

It wasn't until their first game and Hyuuga realized he had to shake hands with the other team's third year captain that he was a bit baffled at the whole thing. Kyoritsu's captain was a good head taller than Hyuuga and had a wicked glare on his face ("we won't lose next time Shorin!") and he shook Hyuuga's hand halfheartedly.

Hyuuga groaned and spun around. "We're the Seirin High School Basketball Team!" _Idiot,_ not _Shorin._

His teammates grinned and bear it, but the idea of anyone now knowing exactly who they were made Hyuuga's face heat up and his fingers curl into fists. They made a promise, and Hyuuga was determined to keep it. They would become the best in Japan and there was no way they would lose. If they were going to become the best in Japan, everyone had to know their name. They had to know their strength and know they were serious. They had to know who Seirin was.

Everyone was smiling, but Hyuuga didn't notice how truly wide and happy Kiyoshi's grin was. He was beaming like a moron at Hyuuga from behind him. Because he saw something that Hyuuga didn't.

They kept playing, and Hyuuga kept ordering his teammates around and keeping them in line. Frankly it felt a bit like a job at first, he figured this might be what parenting felt like, but after a while it just happened without Hyuuga thinking about it. And by the end of the year his teammates had been whipped into shape enough so that Hyuuga didn't need to remind them to get to work or start practicing (or to get enough sleep or eat properly or stretch or drink water or do their homework or continue their stamina training or listen to coach or never give up or work hard or to do not do anything stupid or to get home safely).

Kiyoshi told them to have fun.

They were doing so well, and the dream of becoming the best in Japan was within reach. The game against Kirisaki Daiichi didn't seem like anything special. Hanamiya didn't seem like anything special. Kiyoshi had offhandedly mentioned the team had a crownless general on it, but no one thought much of it. They had never faced a crownless general from another school before.

They never faced any of the other crownless generals that year, either.

After Kiyoshi was injured Hyuuga had to pull the team through the rest of the game. They won, by some miracle, and Hyuuga managed not to punch Hanamiya in the face after the game. But there was no time to celebrate that it had been Hyuuga's best game ever and over half the points had come from him alone because he was rushing his teammates out of the locker room and into a bus and to the hospital.

He kept his composure even when he wanted to break down when he saw Kiyoshi in the hospital bed. He was always full of bravado and Hyuuga knew something was wrong. But he couldn't break in front of his teammates. They talked to Kiyoshi (everything is fine, just a bad strain. I'm fine. Go on back home) and soon Hyuuga and Riko were walking the rest of the team to the lobby and making sure they all got on a bus or saw them off as they walked home. Riko left soon after but Hyuuga couldn't catch where she was going because Izuki was asking him if he was alright.

He almost let some emotion slip through when his best friend from middle school asked that. But he didn't. "I'm okay. Get some rest. See you tomorrow."

He went back upstairs and talked to Kiyoshi, and didn't start crying until he got home. He locked himself in his bedroom and furiously wiped at the tears streaming down his face.

Hyuuga didn't go home sobbing until a few days later when they were out of the running for the Interhigh championships after they lost the rest of their games.

The next year started and Hyuuga began the same routine. He made sure all of the first years did what needed to be done and everything else. This of course proved to be a lot more difficult with Kuroko and Kagami, but they were a bit of hope. They were strong and of course they still had a chance. There was no way they were giving up. Hyuuga refused to ever give up again. Kagami was their ace, and Kuroko was the Generation of Miracles' sixth man. Hyuuga still went and talked to Kiyoshi and balanced school with working in his father's barber shop and every other waking moment of his life was dominated by basketball. He improved his stamina and accuracy. He planned with Riko and practiced with the team and kept Kiyoshi in the loop and somehow, someway, even after losing in the Interhighs in their match against Touou (and locking himself in his room and sobbing one more time) they were in the finals for the winter cup.

No matter what happened, this was their last shot. They promised they would become the best in Japan. Hyuuga promised he would become the best in Japan with Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi couldn't play next year. It was their final game together.

He broke down again, openly, for the first time after he was benched. He was never supposed to be benched. _Ever._ Under any circumstance. He was the captain- _captains weren't benched!_ Fury and sadness battled in his mind.

Then he was surrounded by his teammates, and he got back up. He was a bit numb to the entire situation but he entered the game again. Everything hurt, he wasn't sure if this was from over exerting himself or from emotional exhaustion but everything just _hurt._ His chest and his legs and his head and he couldn't think about anything other than the overwhelming pain and loss he was feeling. Something was off. This was his last game with Kiyoshi, dammit. His last game with his best friend. He was a mess. He didn't show it though.

He fouled Mibuchi and- holy shit look at the score board they could win and be the best in Japan how did they get there? How did he get there? Where did the time go? It felt like just a few days ago he was fighting with Kiyoshi over who would be captain. Then he was tossed the ball and told to make a free through. "Just don't accidentally sink it."

Dammit he was crying again. He was doing that a lot lately. He was so happy and terrified and his throat was closing in and it was becoming harder and harder to breath. He met Kiyoshi's gaze and threw.

Seirin got the rebound, and the buzzer sounded. Hyuuga stood in a stunned silence for a second, starring at the scoreboard. Did they really...?

The scream of victory that tore through the stadium was deafening. He vaguely remembered spinning and yelling and throwing his hands in the air and his vision was blurry with tears and Kiyoshi was hugging him and he was hugging back and he ruffed up Kuroko's hair and threw an arm around Kagami's shoulders and he was hugging Riko and high fiving Izuki. He didn't care what else happened that night because they had won. They had won and he was given the trophy to hold in the picture after medals were put around their necks and soon the entire Japanese high school basketball circuit knew him as the captain of Seirin High school, the team that beat Rakuzan in the Winter Cup. The captain who led his team to victory and held them together.

He knew next year would be so very different. Kiyoshi wouldn't be there but the team would grow bigger, there would be a new batch of first years and the process would start all over again and other teams were changing too but Hyuuga would still be Seirin's captain. He pulled the number 4 jersey on reflexively. He would still be a leader. That wouldn't change. That wouldn't ever change. The rest of the team called Kiyoshi the team fairly openly, they secretly said Riko was the team mom because the idea of Iron Heart and the coach being married in any context was a little weird to them, and Izuki started calling himself the team's crazy uncle. Hyuuga figured they probably had a nickname for him too but he never bothered to ask or listen hard enough to catch it. He already knew he was the captain. And that was more than enough for him.

* * *

 **A/N: This basically came from the want to analyze both how Hyuuga and Kasamatsu came to become captains, and how the positions changed them overall. I don't think either of them started off very comfortable with the idea of being captain, but they grew into the position and eventually learned what it meant to be a leader, however this happened very differently. I'm thinking the next few one-shots will be more Kise and Kiyoshi related. Any and all feedback is always appreciated.**


	4. Ace: Kise

Kise hadn't ever gotten used to the idea of watching basketball but not playing. Even at Teiko, the possibility of him not playing had never been evident, he replaced Haizaki and was almost immediately put on the first string.

So now that he was sitting on the bench watching his team practice, he was feeling quite out of sorts. He was the ace, he was not supposed to be benched ever. That had been painful enough at the winter cup when his foot issue had first appeared during the Touou game and again against Fukuda Shogo. But now that it was just a practice and he couldn't play, he was beginning to think the entire thing was a little ridiculous. Of course, to add insult to injury Kasamatsu had graduated, and although he stopped by practice from time to time to say hello, it wasn't the same for Kise once his captain (because Kasamatsu would always be Kise's captain) was gone.

He sat on the bench and watched the rest of his team dash back and forth the court in a practice game, holding each other's feet while doing sit ups and keeping track of each other's pushups. He would find himself stopping mid motion when his teammates were stretching, and would mentally remind himself that he wouldn't be working out that day, so there was no need for him to stretch.

He still refused to get an MRI, because no news was good news, and for the time being he would just keep that in mind and pray that he would be well enough to play by the time that year's interhigh's rolled around.

He was the ace, and aces weren't benched. His team needed him .

He still remembered when he had collapsed on the court and Kasamatsu had to literally pick him up off the ground for the lineup. Tears had been streaming down his face, but not just because of the pain radiating from his foot and up his leg. His throat was closing and he felt like yelling and screaming like a child. He had failed his teammates. They hadn't won. And Kise had broken down. The towel placed around his neck felt so heavy; it held the hopes and dreams of that year's seniors. The hopes that the ace would carry their team to victory and support their team no matter what. Those hopes were a weight that Kise felt he couldn't carry for much longer.

He was injured, on the bench, and just _done_. He didn't know how to recover from this. He didn't know how to fix this. He truly had no idea. He had never been challenged like this before and while it thrilled him it also terrified him. He had absolutely no experience with overcoming obstacles. He had been raised in an (extremely) upper class family, his mother was a very successful traveling blogger, nature photographer, and writer and his father a marketing manager. He would stay at home with various sitters while he was young and his parents went from country to country for their jobs. Kise always got decent grades, not great but enough to get by but his parents didn't mind (or didn't know) and he stumbled into modeling at an early age thanks to one of his father's co-workers. Since then the biggest struggle he had was finding the chance to take time for himself between work and school. He got bored easily but that was easily forgotten by taking up a new hobby and then within a few weeks mastering it. Then it was on to the next thing.

When Aomine had first his him over the head with a basketball he didn't think that this hobby would be any different. But then he was shocked to see what a real challenge was like, what it was like for a sport to not come naturally. Granted they did win the national middle school championships every year, but for the first time in forever Kise was challenged by his teammates and occasionally by the other players at various schools. Most of them were senior captains or the crownless generals but all the same they proved to be difficult to beat. Kise surrounded himself by people he aspired to be like, and faced the idea of a challenge with open arms and a smile on his face.

Kaijo didn't win the interhigh or the winter cup, and that crushed Kise and his teammates and especially the seniors, but for the first time Kise tasted what it was like to be in an uphill battle. It was a whole new experience for him.

He decided he didn't like it very much.

However, there was one thing that he hated more than losing, and that was seeing the people he cared about hurt. He had started crying on the court after their loss. Kasamatsu had kept his cool (which was why he was the captain) long enough to line up. But then after everyone was finished changing and was heading back out towards the bus, Kise noticed the captain was missing. He poked his head into the locker room and saw Kasamatsu on his knees facing the lockers in the dark room, he didn't even try to chock back the sob that ripped from his throat, and Kise could see his captain's arms shaking.

That scared Kise more than any thought of failure could.

Kasamatsu was gone, but Kise didn't want to leave the current seniors with the same fate as Kasamatsu and Moriyama and Kobori. Nakamura and Hayakawa still had a chance at a happy ending. Kise was determined to give it to them.

If he could get up off the damn bench and actually practice, that is.

Kise insisted he was fine, but coach said otherwise and said that he wanted the blond to continue to rest for at least another week before even thinking about starting practice. If his foot wasn't feeling any better by the end of the week, then he would have to go get an MRI.

Kise didn't want an MRI. He was fine. He could walk (well, hobble) around well enough to pass or shoot a basketball. So, after practice when he was sure everyone had left, that's what he did. He slowly walked over to the center of the gym with a cart of basketballs and shot three pointers. He was alright, whenever he wasn't in the zone and copying the generation of miracles constantly, three pointers were never his strong suit. He made every third shot, give or take. He kept scoffing and looking down at his leg as he had to put more weight on his uninjured foot than he wanted to. _Dammit_ Kise realized he was in some vicious cycle. He couldn't practice properly if he was injured. He would heal faster if he stopped practicing but that wasn't something physically possible for him. At all. He loved basketball, it was like food for the soul. He adored the sport, it gave him a high that nothing else could. He loved his team and his rivals and it lit a spark in his eye and his heart that he truly believed not many people completely understood. A select few, possibly, could relate. Those who, like Kise, devoted their very being to a passion, they pursued it with their heart and soul and mind and body and absolutely nothing would stand in their way. They would beat down walls and fall and get back up and commit 100% to the love of basketball, the pain of losing and the physical pain of sore muscles and injuries and the laughs of funny team moments and the stress of planning and the headaches that came with spending too much time bent over a TV screen watching their opponent's matches. They gave it their all no matter what, and never gave up.

This is who Kise was on the court, and with a shock of realization that caused him to drop the ball and stumble, and finally plop down on his backside with a gasp of air, the thought clicked in his head: this is the person he had to be on the bench, too. Just because he isn't playing, doesn't mean he can't be the ace. He'll come back stronger, both physically and mentally, because of this. He will learn from his mistakes, understand exactly how to plant his foot when running and pass that knowledge on to his teammates. He would learn stretches and icing and heating techniques and corrected training regimens for injured players and live by it. Then he would be healed and practice like never before, with a determined fury of a player possessed; a player who wanted to win. He still had two more years, and he would not go out the same way Kasamatsu did. He wouldn't let that happen to his team.

He pulled himself up off the court and put all the basketballs away, and tidied up the gym and made sure it was cleaner when he left than when he got their and ran a hand through his sweaty hair, a mad grin on his face. He knew where he was, and where he needed to be.

And he knew exactly how to get there.

He had learned from his mistakes, and he wouldn't suffer like that again.

* * *

 **A/N: I really enjoyed writing this one. Next up, a closer look at Kiyoshi! Then the chapters should turn into a bit more dialogue involved for the most part. Any and all feedback is always appreciated. Thanks for reading!**


	5. (Ex) Ace: Kiyoshi

Kiyoshi was done. He didn't want to be. He wasn't mentally (but then again would he ever be?) but he was physically incapable of continuing his basketball career. He had worked for years for his mental strength to outweigh his physical, and now that he was finally at that point, his physical strength and ability were nonexistent. His knee was busted and he knew he couldn't continue. He was going away to America soon for surgery.

 _Surgery._

The S-Word as he had dubbed it had came up a lot in conversation lately, although Kiyoshi wished that it wouldn't. Everyone was asking him when he was leaving, and it did bother him a little that no one was asking him when he would be coming _back._ Because that was all he was thinking about. Oh course, Kiyoshi didn't know the exact answer to that question, but he still wished someone had thought to ask it.

He spent most of his time either frantically trying to get ahead on school work so that he could graduate on time (he had spent way too much time in hospitals and not enough time in the classroom. No amount of online school work could make up for the lost learning) and he was madly trying to scrap together good enough marks to get into a decent university. Granted his university would have to be close to where his grandparents lived so he could come home on the weekends, but still. He didn't know what he was going to do, or how he was going to catch up after taking off even more time from school for his knee, but he would make it work. He wanted to get home as soon as possible after the surgery, not just because he wanted the entire ordeal to be finished and done, but because he wanted to be with his friends again. He wanted to be with his family again. He already had spent so much time away from them, he didn't want to be away any longer.

Much of his time was monopolized by studying, but when he wasn't bent over textbooks he was in the gym (watching, not playing, of course). He sat on the bench and talked with Riko and helped her come up with training regimens. He observed his teammates carefully, trying to give them pointers where he could, and made sure that none of them were hiding injuries. He had become a _pro_ at that. He would be leaving in a few days with Alex for America, and he treasured every moment he could spend with his team. He would arrive in America four days before his surgery, then there would be the big day, then he would need to stay at the hospital anywhere for three to six days after his knee surgery to make sure he was recovering properly. He would remain in America for approximately another week, and would be visiting physical therapists regularly to speed up his recovery. He would remain in America for his three week post-op doctor's visit. Then he should be on his way home. Hopefully. The doctors said that he may be able to return to normal activities like swimming and bike riding within three to six weeks, however he may still need crutches for walking. However running and basketball were out of the question. They didn't even _tell_ him when he could play again. When he asked they sidestepped the question and Kiyoshi didn't have it in him to ask twice.

Kiyoshi was about to sigh but stopped himself- Riko was sitting close enough to hear, and although she had her eyes on Seirin's practice, he knew that he always occupied at least some of her attention. He didn't want to worry her. For the past few days he knew that he was the cause of a lot of tension between Riko and Hyuuga, however he tried not to think about it. If he spent too much time thinking about it he would begin to feel bad. He couldn't help it if he was going to America for surgery, he knew it wasn't his fault (although couldn't fully bring himself to completely blame Hanamiya Makoto, either) but he was going indefinitely. He knew he could video chat and email his friends, but it wouldn't be the same.

Practice was coming to a close and Riko blew her whistle to interrupt the game that was going on. The team jogged over to the bench and, huffing and panting, grabbed their water bottles and towels in relief. Kiyoshi smiled and pushed himself up off the bench and walked over to the table with the water dispenser, filling up some of the empty bottles as Riko talked to the team, giving out suggestions and tips about how to play better. They may have been the best in Japan, but there was no guarantee they would stay that way.

Kiyoshi walked back over to where the team was gathered and handed the now full water bottles to Kuroko and Furihata. Without warning it was as if his left knee went numb and it buckled, his hand shooting out to the bench to stop his fall. This had happened more and more lately, and it felt as if he had been thrown into a pool of cold water, cutting off his airflow and a chill ran up his spine.

The team had been facing away from Kiyoshi for the most part, and after a moment, his knee felt relatively okay again so he stood gently. If Riko noticed she said nothing, he thought he heard Izuki sigh. Hyuuga walked around the group and put his water bottle on the bench. He slipped by Kiyoshi and hissed, "sit down, idiot," in his ear. Kiyoshi nodded and sat down.

They had become the best in Japan. They had fulfilled their promise. Seirin had waited for Kiyoshi like he had (quite selfishly, he thought) asked them to. Because of that, and that reason alone, Kiyoshi would go to surgery happily. He may have been physically shattered, but mentally he was stronger than ever before.

It wasn't that he had build up walls, in fact, he had torn them all down. There hadn't really been many in the first place. Kiyoshi wore his heart of his sleeve gladly. He didn't really see the point in hiding when that energy could be used elsewhere. There were a lot more important things. Basketball being one of them. Family was a close second.

The thing that scared him the most about the surgery was being away from his family. Originally this had just included his grandparents, but quickly the idea of 'family' expanded to his team too. He helped his grandfather in the garden every Saturday and Sunday morning and would help his grandmother wash dishes for every meal he was home for. He helped make the beds and clean the house. He occasionally had to remind them to take their proper medication. He made sure Kagami was doing all of his homework and getting good enough grades to play. He spent quality time with Kuroko and acted as a big brother role in every way he knew how. He helped Furi and Tsuchida stop being bullied because Kiyoshi could swear those two were danger magnets. He joked around with Koganei and did his very best to understand Mitobe. He laughed (even if he had to pretend) at a good majority of Izuki's puns. He consoled Riko when she was getting down on herself. He and Hyuuga found a way to coexist without killing each other. He pushed Hyuuga in whatever direction necessary.

He was taking care of his biological family, and was protecting the members of his second family, like he came back to do. He wasn't planning on a knee injury to stand in the way of that.

Frankly, the only thought that had been crossing his mind was when he would be healed. But the concept of not healing never even registered. Kagetora of all people had stopped by his house a few days after the winter cup with a large batch of food that would serve Kiyoshi and his grandparents for about three days. Kiyoshi had stood at the doorway wide eyed at a near loss of words for a long time. "Hey ditzy boy are you gonna take the food or what?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks a lot."

Kagetora shrugged. "Don't mention it. Riko said you live with your elderly grandparents, so." He heaved a long sigh and handed Kiyoshi a large pot with sealed lid. "Anyways. Sorry about your knee. I screwed mine up in '89 and it still gives me trouble. I can still play, 'course, but I never have been able to run quite like I used to."

This had terrified Kiyoshi more than he was willing to admit. He didn't know how to face the concept of not healing. He was supposed to heal. He had to get better. The alternative wasn't an option. It hadn't been before and it wasn't now. It didn't matter if there was no tournament for him to play in when he came back. It was his health. His knee. He was 18 years old. This shouldn't be happening to someone so young. It was the doctor's job to put him back together. He wanted to be able to pick up a basketball five years from now and play in a street game. He had spent countless hours icing his knee, doing stretches, exercises, he was maintaining a healthy weight, he forced himself to use a knee brace when necessary (he had four of them, all slightly different, one was a gag gift from Kise), and he had _so_ many bottles of pain killers _everywhere._

He had to heal... right?

But he had his shot. He played with the best team. Seirin became the best in Japan. Kiyoshi got everything he ever could have asked for; a successful team, a national championship, one semi-successful recovery after Seirin's first interhigh, a coach he adored (even after an awkward break up but-completely-worth-it-friendship), an ace (basically his brother) he knew would go far in his basketball career, a phantom (also a brother) who was worth his weight in gold, a vice captain ( _another_ brother) whose jokes he adored more than he cared to admit, and a captain (Kiyoshi's secondary family was getting quite full at this point) who put him back together after Kiyoshi had done the same for him. He had so many things that he cherished and cared about and so many things had gone so perfectly. His dreams had came true. They _won._

He felt like crying and grinning and hugging his entire team (all of which he had done after the buzzer sounded against Rakuzan) because they had kept their promise. Kiyoshi got everything he ever could have asked for and more.

So, he supposed it was only a matter of time before something bad happened and brought him down from his high. After all, he had known something was off with his knee since his final year of middle school. The cause or exact time that something started feeling strange was unknown to him. He had just pushed the thought aside. It wasn't until after their game with Kirisaki Daiichi that the _'off'_ feeling was turned into another matter entirely.

No one could have everything, and Kiyoshi Teppei was no exception.

He was broken and scared and it _hurt_. But he was happy.

He had no regrets.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks everyone for reading and for all your feedback! The next chapter is more dialogue heavy, and it should be up by tomorrow. Don't expect updates this fast normally, I was ahead on one-shots so I decided to publish all of them in quick succession. I will be with limited internet access while I'm visiting my grandparents on their farm for a week starting Thursday so I figured I could just publish all of the chapters before I leave. If you have any ideas or requests for future chapters please PM me! Of course I cannot guarantee anything, but I would love to hear any ideas anyone has. Thanks for your support, you guys are great!**


	6. Last Days: Kise and Kasamatsu

Kise continued down the hallway towards the Kaijo gym. The Winter Cup may be over, but Kasamatsu had called the entire team together for one last meeting before graduation. It wouldn't be a practice, but Kise still was excited. It was a chance to see his team.

He was on crutches, but it was only for a few days before he could go to the doctor. He could still walk on his foot, but he wanted to heal as fast as possible. So, instead of walking down the hall, Kise sort of hopped. But he got there.

A mop of black hair turned around the corner at the end of the hall and into Kise's line of vision. "Hey! Captain!" Kasamatsu looked up and a small smile graced his expression but only for a second. The smile quickly morphed back into a neutral expression.

"I'm not the Captain anymore, Kise." Kise smiled and didn't reply. Kasamatsu glared down at Kise's crutches. "How long are you on those?"

"Just two days is what the trainer said."

Kasamatsu frowned and fell in step _(clap, clap, thud, clap, clap, thud)_ with his teammate (ex teammate? Kasamatsu didn't want to think about that). "Your doctor's visit is in four days. You should stay on the crutches until then," he insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. He saw Kise smirk out of the corner of his eye and threw his hands up in exasperation. Somehow he knew the younger man wouldn't listen to him.

"I don't need to be on crutches for four days, se- ow hey!" Kise glared as his Captain swung his hand around and slapped him on the back of the head. " _Senpai!_ I can't defend myself with these stupid things!" Kise wildly gestured to his crutches by shaking his forehead towards the contraptions.

"You never defend yourself."

"So mean, Captain."

The two didn't say anything for a while, and continued on down the hallway towards the gym. Once Kasamatsu pulled the doors open for Kise, a small part of Kise's stomach dropped. He saw Hayakawa and Nakamura bickering about something, and Moriyama and Kobori were conversing lightly, with small grins on their faces. However he could tell something was off because Moriyama was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and Kobori was glancing around the room as if in a daze. The realization hit Kise like a ton of bricks as he looked at his teammates. It looked so natural, so normal. But it was all about to change. It would be the last time they were all in the gym together as members of the Kaijo High Basketball Team. It was it.

"Captain if this makes me cry-"

"It _won't._ "

There were chorus' of greetings from the other four boys as Kise and Kasamatsu entered the room, the sun streaming in from the windows and casting a light pink and orange tint on the walls and the court. Their backpacks were discarded to the floor, and everyone migrated just by habit to the center of the gym where they would always start warm ups and stretches.

"Why did you want us all to meet here, Captain?" Hayakawa asked, that energetic grin and wide eyed look never leaving his face. Of course, everyone had to strain a bit to understand him ("Why did you want us arr to meet hele, Captain?")

Kasamatsu sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I just thought we should. For old time's sake I guess. And I have a few house keeping things to take care of."

"And he just doesn't want to leave us," Kise stage whispered and his fellow second years chuckled. The third years shook their heads fondly, but Kise thought the tension in the air was suffocating. They all knew what was coming. What this meant. "Come on! Lighten up. You're acting like someone died!" Kasamatsu slapped Kise again and the Miracle howled.

"I didn't _do_ anything!"

"Just shut up and respect your seniors for once, please?"

Kobori raised an eyebrow towards Kise and his raised foot. "You better heal fast, I expect Kaijo to win next year. They'll need their ace."

Kise's normally happy go lucky expression faded away for a moment, and his eyes narrowed in anticipation and excitement. "Don't worry. I'll be more than ready."

"And I'm going to get _all the rebounds_ -" Kasamatsu rounded up and smacked Hayakawa across the back.

"Stop distracting them!" Kasamatsu pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"Hayakawa," Kasamatsu walked over to his backpack and appeared to be digging around for something, and eventually pulled out a blue ball of fabric and tossed it at the shorter man. "You're the Captain now."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken and the temperature dropped. For a moment no one said anything, and then all the senior's expressions split into grins as they looked down at the stunned second year. Kise was taken completely by surprise for a moment. He had forgotten that another captain was going to be appointed, and frankly the idea of anyone other than Kasamatsu being captain didn't even occur to him.

"What? I thought... that Kise would be Captain," Hayakawa's words tumbled out of his mouth slowly, methodically. Kasamatsu ruffled Hayakawa's hair and shook his head. For once no one made a remark about his speech.

"Are you kidding? No. There's no way he would ever survive being Captain," the look he tossed over his shoulder to the blond clearly said he meant otherwise, but he quickly turned his attention back to Hayakawa before Kise could fully process what had occurred. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Hayakawa. No one wants this more than you. You're the energy this team needs. That also means I'm now holding you in the same regard as Wakamatsu, Hyuuga, and Akashi. Got it? Besides, that just means that I'm entrusting you to keep track of Kise and make sure he doesn't hurt himself more, alright? Can you do that for me?"

Hayakawa blinked and gripped the blue jersey tightly in his hands. He bit down on his lip once and Kise could tell the boy was using all of his willpower to ensure he didn't get emotional. "Of course, Captain."

Kasamatsu grinned and Moriyama and Kobori gazed at him with something akin to glorious recognition. No one said anything for a few moments, but then Hayakawa launched himself at Kasamatsu, pulling the senior man into a bone crushing hug. Kasamatsu yelped and tried to pull away for a second before finally crumpling into the embrace. Nakamura burst out laughing and threw an arm around Moriyama's shoulders who jumped in surprise, but smiled all the same. Before they knew it Kobori had shoved them both forwards towards Kasamatsu and Hayakawa and it took all of their combined strength not to tumble into a massive dog pile. There was the sound of something metal hitting the floor before a mass of blond came stumbling into them all, throwing his arms around the laughing (and somewhat teary) group. " You all _have_ to keep in touch!" Someone cried. There were murmurs of agreement all around.

* * *

Everyone was slowly filtering out of the gym, no one really knew how to say goodbye but at the same time no one wanted to say it or felt like they needed to. They promised to meet up often, and the underclassmen would of course all see each other regularly. Kasamatsu picked up his bag and looked back to see Kise leaning up against one of the walls, crutches resting next to him. "Come on, Kise."

Kise looked up and smiled, pulling his crutches under his arms grudgingly. "Do you think we will all really continue to talk?"

Kasamatsu's eyebrows propelled up his forehead. "Huh?"

"You know, everyone always says they will keep in touch after graduation but do you think we really will?"

"I hope so." Kasamatsu didn't have it in him to admit that, in a way, he agreed with Kise. What everyone said and what they did were two very different things. "I think this team is special though. We have- had- _dammit-_ we're like family and I hope we can stay that way," he said in a rush. He knew that he was on the emotional brink of a breakdown from just a mess of feelings that he didn't even know how to describe or comprehend. He thought he was ready for graduation, but he wasn't ready to _leave_. To say goodbye. This team had molded him into the person he was today and the thought of losing that sent a shiver down his spine. He didn't want anything to change. He didn't want hit team to change or for the separation to change him. He also didn't want to break down right in front of Kise. He didn't think he would know how to deal with that.

Kasamatsu once again held the door open for Kise and the Copy Cat hobbled on through. "Captain-" Kasamatsu glared at him and resisted the urge to slap Kise over the head. He _wasn't_ the captain anymore. Hayakawa was. He deserved it, Kasamatsu mentally reminded himself. It was time for the younger ones to take over. Kise stopped mid statement for a second and starred at the older boy before a grin light up his face as he spoke. "You'll always be a part of this team. When we win I expect to see you cheering us on. You better be there when we beat Seirin and Touou and everyone else in Japan. Because whatever happens for the next few years, you helped us get there. You made an impact on this team for years to come. Don't ever think that just because you graduated you're finished and have no ties to Kaijo. We _will_ become the best in Japan, that's a promise. We're what we are tomorrow because of what happened yesterday."

For many moments Kise continued on in silence, unaware that Kasamatsu had been stopped in his tracks by the wisdom (and sheer idiocy) of Kaijo's ace. Kasamatsu's fists clenched to the point that his short nails dug into his skin and his knuckles turned white. He didn't realize he was chocking up until his vision started to blur with unshed tears and he wiped them away before Kise could notice. He couldn't, however, hide the ache in his voice or the faint red that tinged his face. He took in a deep breath but it came in as a shudder that he couldn't control.

"You mean that?"

Kise turned around, the same spark in his eyes as the one that Kasamatsu had seen in Kise's eyes when the pair first met. The spark of respect, of trials to come, of commitment, and of a promise.

"Of course, Captain."

* * *

 **A/N: And that's that! Any and all feedback is always appreciated and thanks for all the continuous support! I wasn't sure how to write Hayakawa's speech, but according to the wiki page the only thing wrong with it is that he gets his Rs and Ls mixed up, so that's what I did, hopefully it was enough. Also I know a lot of people envision Kise becoming captain after Kasamatsu, but also according to the wiki page, it is inferred that Hayakawa becomes captain, however this isn't confirmed. I just think that because Kise is a first year, they wouldn't throw him into the captain position quite yet. Again, I'm going to be with limited internet access for the next week, so don't expect any updates for at least a week, maybe a few days longer. Sorry about that! If anyone has any ideas for chapters, please message me! I cannot guarantee I will write all of them, but I might! Thanks everyone!**


	7. First Days: Kiyoshi and Hyuuga

Hyuuga shuffled the laptop on his desk so that he could better see the screen without the glare of his lamp reflecting off of it. He and Kiyoshi had a relatively small window of time they could video chat, since when it was early morning in America it was fairly late in the evening for Hyuuga. This definitely didn't stop them though, and in reality made the captain of Seirin more on edge about waiting for the time when the video chat would connect.

Finally after waiting what seemed like much longer than necessary, Kiyoshi's face came into view. For a few moments the audio and video didn't sync and the image was pixilated, but eventually everything lined up and the image became clear.

"Evening, Hyuuga!"

Hyuuga tried to suppress his wide grin. "Good morning, idiot."

Kiyoshi looked a bit tired, his hair was in disarray and was wearing a crumpled white night shirt. There were small bags under his eyes but he looked as perky as possible. "How are you doing?"

The Iron Heart shrugged. "I'm fine. We're still in the hotel in Santa Ana. We'll be leaving for Newport Beach this evening-"

"You're going to a _beach?"_

Kiyoshi chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. His laugh soon turned into a yawn. "No, no, that's where the orthopedic center is!"

"Lucky bastard," Hyuuga grinned. "Get a room with a nice view, okay?"

"Sure, sure."

Hyuuga stretched, coach had them doing more upper arm weights at practice that night and he was sore. "So, how did the trip go?"

"It was really long, but the weather is great here. We landed pretty late last night and got our bags with no problem. We took a shuttle to the hotel. Traffic here is almost worse than it is in Tokyo," Kiyoshi said the last bit with the hint of a smile.

"Well I'm glad there weren't any problems." The two were silent for a few moments. All Hyuuga could see behind Kiyoshi was a plain white shaded lamp and a dark wood headboard. The walls were a dusty tan color and there was light streaming in from something on Kiyoshi's right- a window or door or something- but that was all Hyuuga could tell about the room. "How's sharing a hotel with Alex? Has she been very helpful?"

It seemed that a faint pink tinged Kiyoshi's cheeks. "Eh, yeah she has been extremely helpful. Her English is perfect so she's been a life saver in that sense with directions, checking in, and hiring a cab. However..." He looked to his left and chuckled lowly. "Well, she doesn't wear anything when she sleeps, you see, so it's been a little awkward."

"She _doesn't wear anything?_ I knew she did that at Kagami's house but I didn't think she would do that with you!" Hyuuga's eyes widened and his face turned the color of a ripe strawberry. "What if she wakes up after you or something?"

"Eh, I just look away and wait for her to get into the bathroom. I won't have to deal with it anymore soon."

Hyuuga took his glasses off for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. _If the famous Iron Heart didn't have such high morals..._ "Well," he coughed. "When is your surgery? In three days?"

"If you don't count today, yeah. I go in for a consultation today, though, since I haven't ever talked to the doctors here in person or anything."

Hyuuga resisted the urge to frown. "Email me about how it goes."

Kiyoshi nodded. "Course."

"Are you worried?"

Kiyoshi shrugged faintly and tilted his head to one side. "I mean, a little bit, it didn't fully hit me until we got off the plane, but I'm not too worried. It's not like it can get worse."

Hyuuga growled. "Don't say that, idiot!"

"I mean of course it will get better, the doctor knows what he's doing and he'll help me for sure. It's just, there's nowhere to go but up from here. I just have to look at it that way."

How Seirin's center could keep such a positive attitude Hyuuga had no idea, but he felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease upon hearing Kiyoshi's response. Hyuuga hadn't been able to focus on his school work all day, and there had been a nagging sensation in his stomach since the afternoon before. He knew that Kiyoshi would be leaving and he had tried his best to prepare himself for it, after all it wasn't as if anything would go wrong realistically, it was just the fact that he was forced to leave for such an extended period of time that made Hyuuga frustrated. He beat the guilt down before it could take full control of his mind as the image of Hanamiya flickered through Hyuuga's thoughts.

He groaned and took his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You don't have to be concerned, Hyuuga! It'll be fine. I am touched that you're worried, though!" That cheeky smile plastered itself on Kiyoshi's expression and Hyuuga growled. He didn't have the energy to retort.

There was the sound of a door hitting a wall, which pulled Hyuuga out of his train of thought. He grabbed his glasses and put them back on, despite the now slightly smudged left lens. "What's that?" The sound definitely hadn't came from his side of the computer.

"Hyuuga? Is that you?" Alex's face then appeared on the screen and she grinned madly. "Hey! How you doing?"

Hyuuga shrugged. "Good, I guess."

Alex shuffled with something in her arms and then handed a wax bag to Kiyoshi. "Here I brought breakfast, all they had were pastries and muffins so I just brought a little bit of everything." Kiyoshi took the bag and set it down somewhere. Alex disappeared for a moment and then came back with a styrofoam cup of something that appeared to be steaming, probably coffee. She handed that to Kiyoshi as well, and then passed a paper cup of some juice across Kiyoshi's lap and set it on what Hyuuga assumed was a night stand. "Also," there was the sound of Alex digging through a bag of some sort, "I brought you a magazine I found in the lobby. I know it's a gossip magazine but there's an article about the American team, Jabberwock in there if you want to read it later. They're going to be visiting Japan soon!" Hyuuga had heard about the team, apparently they were very good and would be playing against a team of graduating seniors from various high schools. Hyuuga knew Kasamatsu was on the team, at least. Riko had mentioned wanting to find tickets to the sold out game somehow, but Hyuuga hadn't heard about if she had actually gotten her hands on them yet or not.

"Oh yeah I heard of that, thanks, Alex!" Kiyoshi took the magazine with a grin and set it somewhere on the bed. He dug through the wax bag of pastries for a moment before breaking off a piece of pumpkin bread and tossing it in his mouth.

"I see you're being fed well." Hyuuga joked.

"Heh, yeah, Alex has been taking good care of me."

"Well someone has to make sure you end up back in one piece!" Hyuuga just moaned. He felt like he was going to be sick. "Anyways, Kiyoshi, we'll have to be leaving soon so I suggest you eat and get dressed here quickly so we're not late."

Kiyoshi frowned for a moment but the expression was immediately swept away by a gentle smile. "She's right, I probably should go here," he tried to stifle down a yawn but couldn't. "Man, this time change is rough. I should get used to it in a few days."

"You better. You need your rest."

"I better not hear about you falling asleep in class tomorrow, alright?"

Hyuuga huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, yeah. Email me how the appointment goes, we can video chat another time. Just let me know what works, alright?"

"Of course. Talk to you later, Junpei!"

Hyuuga nodded and tried not to react at Kiyoshi's usage of his first name. He had been doing that more and more since the Winter Cup. "We'll be waiting."

* * *

Kiyoshi closed his laptop and slowly slipped out of bed, putting his right food on the carpeted floor first before carefully following with his left. There wasn't necessarily a sensation of pain right away, more like an odd tingling feeling and a quite obvious discomfort. After getting dressed and finishing his breakfast at the small table in the corner of the room by the sliding glass door however, there was a noticeable throbbing pain through his knee. He just pushed it away and took two more pain killers. It had become a routine he was accustomed to. But now that would change. He would be getting his knee fixed and returning to his team.

He had came back the first time to protect his team, and so he would do again. And again. And again. And again. The bags under his eyes and unusual paleness of Hyuuga's face hadn't gone unnoticed by Kiyoshi, but he opted to say nothing. He knew that his captain's mind was probably spinning with worries regarding him, but he didn't want to lead Hyuuga on to anything being amiss. Nothing was, but he hadn't seen the doctor in person yet. Kiyoshi told himself nothing would go wrong, because they couldn't afford for anything to. Everything would be fine. They would both be nauseous with worry and probably hardly sleep at all and talk as often as they could to keep each other sane. They were teammates, and they took care of each other, even if it meant trying to put his own needs behind Hyuuga's. He knew Hyuuga was doing the same with him.

So he would get better, and he would return, and everything would be fine.

He didn't want to keep them waiting too long, after all.

* * *

 **A/N: That took longer to get out than I originally thought it would, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Things are starting to get a lot busier for me with university starting soon, so expect much less frequent updates. I will, however try to continue writing this as I get ideas. Please PM me if you have any requests or ideas for future chapters because I would love to hear them! And and all feedback is always appreciated, and thanks so much for the support, reviews, favs, and follows I've already received. Thanks for reading!**

 **Also, yes the mention of Jabberwock is a nod towards Extra Game. I do plan on writing about it at some point, however I would like to wait for more chapters to come out, if possible, before I write them. If anyone has't read Extra Game yet I highly recommend it, so far it is very good and you can find the four or five chapters that are out on google. Have a nice day/night, everyone!**


	8. Kasamatsu's College Life

The weather was anything but wonderful- it was just crisp enough to be considered fall, a gust of wind fast enough to whip his jacket out of his hands continued to kick up and the imposing sounds of thunder echoed across the concrete just as the rain began pouring down. Kasamatsu trudged across the university campus, finally tugging his jacket on after the fifth try and yanking his hood up to block out some of the rain. He could only hope that his bag was water resistant enough that his laptop, books, and papers would be alright. It wasn't like he knew what he wanted to do with his life but he knew that he needed to go to university and study something. He went in focused on getting his basic math and science requirements out of the way.

He had gotten an apartment just outside downtown Tokyo within walking distance to his university. He was sharing it with two other boys, one was a year older than him who spent more time stumbling in drunk with various women than actually studying. Kasamatsu had given up all hopes at patience and punched him in the gut after the man had brought home four different girls four nights in a row.

His other roommate was a quiet, timid, transfer from Paris. How he ended up rooming with Kasamatsu the ex Kaijo captain wasn't really sure. But he didn't cause any problems so Kasamatsu didn't care. They both paid their rent on time and stayed out of his room. Now the kitchen was in a constant state of disarray but that was a different matter entirely. He could eat out every day if he had to. He basically did.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy college. He did. It was much better than high school academics were, anyways. But that was just it. It was only better than the academic part. Not the basketball loving social hour do something you're truly passionate about part. He hadn't found that yet.

He knew it had to exist. He refused to believe it couldn't.

He had been at university for a month now and he was beginning to get scared he wouldn't find it.

Kise had messaged him about every single Kaijo event he could possibly go to, and he did his very best to attend them all. He could feasibly make it to about half of them. He went to a little less than that though. He was trying to walk a fine line between staying involved with the team and hovering. He was no longer technically on the team, but Kise had said he would always be a captain. He had thought it was true at the time, but now that he had been gone from practice, from games, from the team, for so long, he was having a harder time grasping the concept.

He sighed and dashed off towards the entrance to his apartment building at a run. By the time he crashed into the lobby, he was drenched with rain, his clothes stuck to him and his frame was shivering. He growled and shoved strands of black hair off his forehead only to have them spike awkwardly upwards like horns. The stairs creaked and snapped as he stomped up them leaving a gaping be-speckled doorman in his wake.

He finally got to the seventh floor where his apartment was and stumbled down the hall towards room sixteen. The hallway was made of cheap lamenent but at least there was a large window at the end of each hall that let a lot of natural light in.

He dug through his pockets and when he couldn't find the key immediately he began to grow frusterated. He threw his backpack on the ground in order to not have the extra weight on his shoulders as he flipped his pockets all inside out only to find them empty. A small sense of urgency in his stomach he looked through his backpack, old gum wrappers began littering the floor but no key presented itself. "Shit!" He forced himself back into a standing position and knocked three times on the door, not quite hard enough to be considered roughhousing but definitely loudly enough to be important.

There was no response.

Kasamatsu checked his watch- 8:12 p.m. He knew for a fact that should be home by now. "Open the damn door, Matsuda!"

There was the sound of agitated footsteps on long strides through the door before it finally swung open towards him. A man a good head and a half taller than him poked his head out, shaggy hair falling in front of his face, yet the gleam of annoyance still shining through his amber eyes. "Aw did Yuki-chan get caught in the rain?"

Kasamatsu could have beat his head against a wall. Matsuda was only hostile when he was drunk and even then he was harmless. It was just obnoxious.

"Shut up, bastard. You better be sober tomorrow night." Kasamatsu shoved his way past him and trudged inside, chucking his backpack on the dryer and making a mental note to clean it out later. Now he just wanted a warm shower and a clean set of clothes.

"You didn't tell me you like scrapbooking, Yuki-chan!" Matsuda called over his shoulder as he went across the living room into his bedroom. Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow.

"I don't!"

"Your door says otherwise, dear."

"Shut up! I told you a week ago to stop coming home d-" a door slam cut him off and he yelled out in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. He preferred Herve, his roommate from France, but he usually didn't get home to 9:00 or 10:00.

He hung his coat up and finally marched around the corner of the cramped kitchen towards his room, but stopped in his tracks at the sight of his door.

He had never seen so many photos on such a condensed space in his life.

His entire door was covered in photos of Kaijo; the team, practices, games, everything. From top to bottom, left to right, blue jerseys littered it. Some were of smiling faces, there were at least three of him kicking or slapping Kise, there were some huddled talks, but no one ever had a frown on their face or a tear in their eye.

In the middle on a white sticky note there was a small letter:

 _Captain,_

 _We were missing you so much recently that we stopped by after school to pay you a visit. Unfortunately you weren't there so we decided we would have a bit of fun. Kuroko-cchi stole your keys and let us into your apartment while you were in class so we could give you a little something to remember us by. Now you get to see my smiling face every day!_

 _Come back and see us soon!_

 _-Kise_

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been able to upload anything in a long time, college life is busy but it's fun. It also gave me inspiration to write this little mini chapter. I do have a few more ideas for this story (although if I have time to write is another matter...) but hopefully I'll be able to continue to write and upload a chapter or two a month.**

 **The next chapter I have planned out is Hyuuga and Kiyoshi discussing the general idea of college, and there might be a chapter in the future about Kise calling Kasamatsu for college advice, if I get more inspiration for that second idea that is.**

 **Any and all feedback is always appreciated!**


	9. Kiyoshi's College Life

Finding time to put the finishing touches on rooming applications and sending in transcripts all while continuing to come to basketball practice was seemingly impossible, but the third years of Seirin had to make it work. Hyuuga was by far the most stressed, but he didn't do well with academic settings. Izuki was seemingly floating on air, his marks were good enough that he had absolutely no concern with getting in the college of his choice. Kiyoshi was somewhere in the middle.

He had been contacted by four coaches, and had to turn them all down. Not because he wasn't good enough; no there was a reason why they were contacting him, it wasn't because he couldn't pay for it because they were offering scholarships, it was because he simply couldn't. He couldn't play. He had accepted that. It was still a hard to say to the coaches that his knee simply made it impossible to play, but he managed. If he spent a few minutes talking quietly to Hyuuga and Riko after these phone calls no one cared. His academics were good enough that he felt comfortable with getting into college.

At first he had wanted to stay with his grandparents and commute, but the moment he mentioned this to his grandparents they shot it down- they had been saving up enough money to hire a caregiver so that he could go off and live his own life.

This both excited him and terrified him.

At first, he and Hyuuga had started looking for an apartment together since they were both planning on remaining in Tokyo. Izuki was out of the question because he was going to Sendai, Koganei was headed to Tsukuba, and Mitobe was on his way to Yokohama. But after crunching number the pair realized that it would be cheaper for the pair of them to each stay in student housing where meals, heating, and air conditioning were included. They both knew they were staying in Tokyo (though Hyuuga had absolutely no idea as to what university he would be at) it would be easy for them to keep in touch and meet up.

Basketball practice was winding down, and Kiyoshi sat on the bench watching. Every once in a while he would stand up, dribble a ball in place, and the Riko or Hyuuga (or Kagami or Kuroko or anyone) would tell him to sit down with varying degrees of anger. The team had all opened up, especially with that year being more difficult and not as successful as the last, and therefore everyone was less concerned about yelling at Kiyoshi regarding his health.

He heard a shrill ringing sound next to him coming from his phone, an email, and absentmindedly picked it up. No one on the court paid him any mind as he read the email and his eyebrows steadily rose, finally stopping with his light exclamation, "oh no."

"Teppei?" Riko turned around slightly.

Kiyoshi hadn't even _considered_ this. He hadn't even thought about this being a problem. "Uh, yeah, everything is fine. I just need to make a quick call." He stood up and walked towards the door, only to see Hyuuga hovering next to him. He fought back the urge to sigh. He wasn't made of _glass_ , everyone had been acting as if he would break every moment. There was a reason his name was Iron Heart!

"Everything okay?" Hyuuga asked, his eyes traveling from Kiyoshi's phone to meet his gaze.

Kiyoshi offered a light smile. "Yeah! Just got my rooming application."

Hyuuga frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Of course!"

"Give me your phone."

Kiyoshi hesitated. "Uh-"

Hyuuga snatched it out of his hand without warning. "Junpei!"

The bespeckled boy walked a few feet away and Kiyoshi followed him persistently, towering over his shoulder and watching as Hyuuga scanned through the email before Seirin's captain noticed the same problem. "Oh dammit. Call them right now and ask if they have an elevator. They better."

"That's what I was doing when you interrupted me."

Hyuuga grumbled something under his breath. At this point the rest of the team had stopped to watch the exchange between their team dad and their captain. Hyuuga growled at them. "Get back to work! How do you expect to beat Touou next week?" That remark got everyone running. It was clear that with Kiyoshi gone they couldn't win the winter cup. That had been like a knife to the hearts of the third years, they had seen it coming, but they still didn't want to admit it. A kick to the gut at the reminder of what they lost, what _Kiyoshi_ lost. It was just a cruel reminder of their good fortune cut short. They best they could hope for was third, and they were determined to get it. But they would never forget what they had gained the year before.

Kiyoshi walked halfway out the gym and was standing in the hall as he called the housing services. The phone rang a few times before a deep, half asleep sounding voice resonated from the other end of the line. Seirin's ex center didn't hear Hyuuga slip around the corner behind him.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon," Kiyoshi greeted. "My name is Kiyoshi Teppei, and I'm going to be staying in Nichibotsu House next year, and I was just wondering if there was an elevator in the building."

"An elevator? Uh, no, sorry man. There isn't one."

"Oh, no don't worry about it," Kiyoshi's stomach dropped a bit. He couldn't walk up or down stairs yet. He could do a flight at most, but four? He was in room 413. There was no way he could walk up and down multiple times a day. "It's no big deal, have- hey!"

The phone was ripped from his grasp by a slightly red faced Hyuuga. "Hello? Did you say you didn't have an elevator?"

"Who are you?"

The voice of the other boy on the line faded as Hyuuga jogged away from Kiyoshi, holding the phone up to his ear. "My name is Hyuuga," he said in a rush, "now, did you say you did not have an elevator in Nichibotsu?"

Kiyoshi stood there, arms crossed over his chest, as he watched Hyuuga curiously. He could take care of himself.

"That won't work. Kiyoshi has bad knees. He just had a surgery a month ago. He can't walk up and down stairs. He's on the 4th floor." How blunt Hyuuga was made Kiyoshi look down at his feet for a second. He wasn't embarrassed at what had happened. His knee was as much a part of him as his personality. It was how violently the team reacted to it that made him uncomfortable.

"Excuse me?" Hyuuga's screech made Kiyoshi's head snap up in concern. "He's not disabled! I don't care what you meant! Whatever! Connect me to them then!" The more words that tumbled out of Hyuuga's mouth the more worried Kiyoshi got. What in the world was going on at the other end of the line?

Hyuuga heaved a heavy sigh and stood there silently for a few minutes. Kiyoshi finally spoke up, "What's going on-" Hyuuga simply shook his head and took a few more steps away. Kiyoshi frowned and followed after him.

"Hello I was just calling about someone who has bad knees being in a dorm on the fourth floor of Nichibotsu House. He just had knee surgery and he can't walk up and down stairs yet, but since there is no an elevator in that dorm, that's going to be a problem. He can't stay there."

Kiyoshi's eyes widened, _"Hyuuga!"_

There was a light murmur of a woman talking on the other line, but once again Kiyoshi couldn't make out any words. "I know that," Hyuuga growled. "That's what I'm trying to- I'm trying to be respectful- just help me out here, _please._ " Kiyoshi could have laughed. Whoever was on the other end of the line had gotten Hyuuga to go from clutch time to pleading in less than ten seconds. What was going on?

"Yes. This Friday at 4:00 would be fine- wait no you have the wrong idea! No, yes that meeting time will work; you can help him, right? No! He's not my-" Now Hyuuga was red in the face and quite flustered, but there was a beeping noise coming from the phone signaling whoever was on the other end of the line had hung up.

"Junpei what did you do?" Kiyoshi asked sharply, Hyuuga rubbed the back of his neck and handed the phone over to Seirin's ex center.

"We have a meeting with disabled resources next Friday after school to get you transferred to a different dorm so you can be on the first floor." Seirin's captain had basically spat out the words 'disabled resources' but Kiyoshi just shook his head and smiled. He knew it was just a technicality and they didn't actually see him as disabled, it was just protocol.

"How did you manage that?"

At this point the two boys had made their way back to the gym, where Riko, Kagami, and Kuroko were leading the pack of basketball players as they ran back onto the court as if they had been practicing the entire time.

"Uh, well, they kind of think I'm your dad." Hyuuga rubbed the back of his neck. Riko gave an ear shattering laugh that sounded just broken enough to be off.

Kiyoshi's face actually turned red as a tomato, which nearly freaked Hyuuga out just as much as Riko's laugh had. It was then that he remembered Kiyoshi lived with his grandparents. His parents weren't even in the picture for whatever reason, and the Captain's shoulders immediately slumped and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I mean – not like I tried to be – I just – he didn't-" Kiyoshi walked up to him and rested a large hand on Hyuuga's head, completely skewing his hair and glasses.

"Come on, Captain, time to get back to practice. I'll be sure to get a doctor's note before next Friday." The massive grin on the Iron Heart's face didn't fade for days.

* * *

 **A/N: Because I've had this finished for months and forgot about it, so it didn't get uploaded until now. I want to continue with this project, just at my own leisure, so don't expect fast updates. Thanks for reading!**


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